Hi all, I'm home sick today with a terrible cold and have taken too many Mucinex to be able to sleep anymore. So, I started looking at koi links. I know that someone recently asked about DIY pond filtration but since that thread already got kind of long I thought I would start a new one. I'm finally starting to understand all the different plumbing requirements and beginning to gain confidence in my abilities. I guess if you spend months reading the stuff over and over again it finally begins to make sense! I'm still not sure what kind of filtration system I'll end up with. Hubby really wants us to keep the pond around 3,000 gallons because he's concerned that our resale value will actually go down if we build anything much bigger. He's probably right. He was also really shocked when I told him we might be looking at spending $15k for a 6,000 gallon pond, not to mention he was concerned about removing so much ground near the driveway - again, probably a good point. So, LOL, that is probably going to be a no-go. I'm back to looking at set-ups for a 3,000 gallon-ish pond (so help me, 3,999 is still 3,000 gallon-ish!).
Here is one website I like with great DIY filters and other projects:
http://www.joeskoi.com/diyprojects.htm
They also talk a lot about plumbing, which I know many of us have questions about kind of frequently.
They sell used sterilized 55 gallon drums for just $45 each. The first could serve as a vortex, with the next two being mechanical and biological filtration. Add bulkheads, PVC connectors and media, and voila, a pretty good filtration system for about $400. The big issue I see is that the system is far from compact, it would require a huge filtration pit to hide it.
Elizabeth
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Filtration for Ponds
I've checked that sight out before, great links! Joeskoi also has good sales, posts them on Koiphen.
I've heard you can sometimes pick up the blue 55 gallons at coke bottling places and car washes for free or cheap. I want two, one for settlement and another for a moving bead filter. But my issue is yours... how do you hide them and do I really have to dig a giant pit for them??? Its like digging a second pond and then having to concrete and block it, THEN you have to figure out a way to drain it so it doesn't fill with water AND cover it so you don't have a giant hole in your yard!!! Gravity flow maybe best, but it takes up a lot of room...
I might down size my filter plans for my current pond because it seems like overkill for a 2000 gallon. If we stay in this house, it will only be for a few more years and I can already tell my realtor thought my pond was gianormeous enough;) Probably up there with my yellow wall, in his book! lol
That was another big kicker with not "going large" for a pond - the filtration pit alone would have been about a 60" square. Even for a 3,000 gallon-ish pond, I'll probably be looking at a 40" square if I want to leave myself some room in there. That is, provided I don't have the giant barrels. I want a big enough filter pit that if I want to upgrade filtration, I can do it without too much trouble.
For drainage of the pit, I'm going to have a slab and leave a few pieces of 1" PVC in there, then take them out once the concrete is poured and curing. Very much like hypertufa drainage holes, I think that will help. I'm not completely sure how I will do the walls. The filter pit is one thing I will get done this year, as well as the ring for the pond itself (leaving holes for plumbing and the skimmer).
Are you building part of the pond above ground? That will definately make the filter pit easier since you won't have to dig as deep to make the filters and water level.
Nope, I want my pond to be in-ground completely. I don't trust my engineering skills enough to try to locate part of it above ground.